Economy in Brief

Real GDP increased 2.6% (SAAR) last quarter which was roughly equal to the preliminary report of a 2.5% rise issued last month. The gain matched expectations for a 2.6% rise by MMS International. So far since the last recession GDP [...]

Consumers, in many countries appear to be loosing confidence. Yesterday it was the consumers in the Low countries who reported having second thoughts about their futures. Today it is the consumers in the UK and Sweden. Consumers in [...]

Japan's all-industry index for business fell to 95.9 in October from 96.1 in September. The construction and services (tertiary sector) improved in the month. But industry fell sharply, by 2% month-to-month compared to gains in the [...]

Reports of aggressive promotions paid a dividend last week and spurred retail sales. Sales at chain stores increased 1.7% w/w to the highest level since early-August. However, since the surge followed weakness early in the month, [...]

The recent firming of gasoline prices took a breather last week. Nevertheless, as the pump price for regular gasoline remained at $2.98 per gallon. It still was the firmest since October 2008. Prices have risen roughly fifty cents per [...]

Data on consumer confidence in December were released today for the Netherlands. A few days ago similar data for Belgium were released. There are no measures of consumer confidence for the third low country, Luxembourg. In the [...]

The Chicago Fed reported that its National Activity Index (CFNAI) fell last month to -0.46 and reversed most of its October increase. The index remained down sharply since its March peak, suggesting that the economy's recovery has [...]

The Conference Board reported that its Index of Leading Economic Indicators rose 1.1% during November and nearly tripled its October increase, initially reported at 0.5%. The latest level of the index was a record high. These gains [...]